Gladiators: a virtual reality online game that's become the most popular game in the world. A game where players, known as Gladiators, fight against each other by way of strategy, power, strength, and speed. And even Gladiators are allowed to carry weapons in the real world openly. The only problem is that there's an enemy who wants to take control of the game and gain the power that it has and turn it into his own.

The forest was cool and quiet, the trees overhead let in a few rays of light, and everything seemed nice and peaceful.

A young man walked through the forest, not noticing the forest. He was dark-haired, with bright blue eyes, and dressed in a simple outfit of an unbuttoned dark gray jacket, showing the blue shirt he wore underneath, black trousers, and hunting boots. A sheathed sword was strapped to his belt.

A shadow crept up to him, trying to avoid catching his attention. A knife was in one hand, sharp and polished.

Galadhar didn't appear to have noticed - but he did, and swiftly went for his sword, drew it, and slashed in the flash of a second. But the shadow was instantly gone when he turned.

He paused, startled. "Wait, was that real?" He frowned. Nothing moved around him in the forest. Apparently, anything or anyone hoping to intimidate him had gone back to hiding.

With an irritated huff, he turned and continued walking. Jeez, he had no time to face these hidden Gladiators(who are they, anyway?!) and he had no business to. The game was on. He was in a tournament of Gladiators, and he'd challenged another player to fight him: Dragos. Problem was: Dragos wasn't anywhere in the battlefield he'd entered.

Finally, irritated, he turned to the forest and yelled, "Dragos, come out of your hiding place already! Where are you?!"

In a castle, another battlefield that was part of another game, the yell of Galadhar was loud enough to still be heard. The battle game here had ended already, though, as the winner seated himself in the throne in the castle.

Dragos had dark auburn hair with a lock swept across one of his dark violet eyes. He looked pretty much as if he were the king who ruled the castle, even without a crown, mostly because of his posture and the arrogance he seemed to carry in the way he sat in the throne seat.

He sat up at the yell, then frowned. Galadhar had proposed that they Gladiate(as challengers usually defined fighting each other) in one arena, since they were both strong. But when he noted that Galadhar had not been sighted in the castle battlefield that they had agreed on, he wondered where his opponent had gone.

Actually, it wasn't just one game that was going on right now: there were three games that were going on, in three different battlefields: a forest, a castle, and a temple in mountains.

And now, it was clear to Dragos that his opponent had somehow gotten into the forest battlefield instead of the castle battlefield like they agreed on yesterday.

Now that he won this castle battle, though, he had no reason to stay longer - until a strange presence suddenly came over him, like storm clouds approaching and blocking out the sky.

That made him pause.

In the throne room, he was alone, having defeated twenty other Gladiators who had taken part in the game of the castle battlefield. But now, he was startled to see those twenty standing right in front of his seat, weapons of all sorts drawn. There was one with a spear. Another with a halberd. Another with those more common swords among Gladiators.

"Dragos, watch yourself! We're going to beat you up!" yelled one of them.

Too aloof, they were.

With a smirk, Dragos went for the sword that was strapped against his back.

At the same moment, in the forest, Galadhar froze upon sensing the same presences, and turned.

They were there: opponents he'd fought back just some time ago while he was walking and looking for Dragos.

He stopped.

"So you've decided to face us again, Galadhar?" said one of them.

Galadhar frowned, then said, "Um - where's the direction to the castle? I think I'm lost."

At that, the group of twenty dropped their mouths in wide gapes, their eyes widened.

Huh? What? Galadhar wondered.

"You're an idiot, aren't you? The castle arena was just finished with Dragos as the winner!" one of them said.

Now, it was Galadhar's turn to gawk, eyes wide. "I - you're saying - I entered - the wrong arena." He scowled. "Guess I should log out and hide for a few hours, then challenge him again."

"Hold it, not before we all defeat you!" yelled another of the twenty, and they attacked.

Galadhar was immediately flooded by the other Gladiators the minute he realized that these guys were really the Gladiators he was supposed to have beaten earlier.

A bug. In the game. Again.

Bugs in the game of Gladiators seem more common these days.

With no choice, Galadhar drew his sword and swung them outwards in a wide arc and slashed at the Gladiators, and four dispersed into digital codes through the fatal wounds he'd dealt.

In ten minutes, he was done with them again.

He sheathed his sword.

"I'll bet Dragos must be livid about me being late," he muttered. "Oh, well."

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